What was the Emu War?
The Emu War was a military operation in Western Australia in 1932, when soldiers armed with machine guns were sent to cull emus damaging wheat crops. The emus proved difficult to kill, and the operation was widely mocked.
After World War I, many former soldiers were given land to farm in the Wheatbelt. In 1932, around 20,000 emus migrated into the area after the breeding season, eating and trampling crops.
Farmers asked the government for help. The Minister for Defence, Sir George Pearce, sent soldiers led by Major G.P.W. Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery, armed with Lewis machine guns.
The emus win
The soldiers found the emus hard to hit. The birds scattered into small groups and ran quickly. The machine guns sometimes jammed, and attempts to fire from a truck failed on rough ground.
After about a month, the operation was ended. Reports of the number of emus killed vary, but the campaign failed to solve the problem.
The Emu War became a source of humor and is often mentioned online as the war Australia lost to birds. Farmers later used bounties and fences to control emus.